Celaenorrhinus ruficornis,[1] [2] commonly known as the Tamil spotted flat,[3] is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in India, Java, and the Sulawesi Region.[4] [5] [6] [7]
The subspecies, Celaenorrhinus ruficornis fusca Hampson, 1889[8] occurs in India in the Western Ghats, Nilgiris and the Palni hills.[4] [2] [3] [9]
A record in Calcutta may be vagrant or mistaken.[10]
The butterfly has a wingspan of 45 to 50 mm. The butterflies resemble the common spotted flat except that the discal spot in 2 and the spot end cell of the forewing are separate. The upper hindwing is only obscurely marked. The antenna is chequered and has a white club.[10]
It is common along the Western Ghats, especially during the monsoon. It may be caught in the daytime by beating out roadside patches of Lantana camara.[10]
Food plants: Phaulopsis, Strobilanthes (Acanthaceae).[11]
. Evans . W. H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932.
. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329. Online
. Annales de la Société entomologique de Belgique . Paul Mabille. Société entomologique de Belgique. 1878 . 32–33.
. Evans . W. H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 . 327, ser no I11.20.
. Hesperiidae Indicae: being a reprint of descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burma, and Ceylon . Edward Yerbury Watson. Vest and Company. 1891. Madras. 141.
. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum . William Harry Evans . British Museum (Natural History). Department of Entomology. 1949. London. 102.
. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: Butterflies of the Nilgiri District. George Hampson. Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1888. Calcutta. 367.
. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 . 460–461.